Oakwood, Fisk, Tougaloo earn Week 7 HBCUAC WBB Awards

Saniya Keys earns her ninth award and Jessica Nerestant picks up her second. Trenisha Adams and Skyler Christmas earn their first honors.

December 9, 2024

NEW ORLEANS - December 9, 2024 - Oakwood University's Saniya Keys wins Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference Offensive and Freshman of the Week. Fisk University's Jayla Bibbs brings home Defensive Player of the Week. Tougaloo College's Makaila Brown claims Newcomer of the Week. The athletes were honored for their performances from December 2-8, the conference announced on Monday.

Keys put up a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's victory at Washington Adventist University. She leads the HBCUAC with 19.9 points per game, which ranks in the top 25 nationally. Keys is third in the conference with 11.6 rebounds per game.

Bibbs recorded two double-digit rebounding games last week. She grabbed 20 in a victory over Talladega College and 14 against Voorhees University. Nineteen of her 34 rebounds were on the defensive end. Bibbs added five steals and three blocks. She ranks second in the HBCUAC with 11.9 rebounds per game.

Brown provided a strong defensive effort in Tougaloo's 64-54 win over Arkansas Baptist College with seven rebounds, four steals and a block. She also contributed offensively with 12 points. Brown ranks seventh in the HBCUAC with 5.6 defensive rebounds per game.

Additional women's basketball weekly nominees: Limaya Batimba (Stillman), Ty'Shemia Bunkley (Voorhees), Elizabeth Camacho (Wiley), Constance Chaplin (Wilberforce), Skyler Christmas (Dillard), Beautiful Curry (Talladega), Kaelin Davis (Voorhees), Brayland Ferguson (Tougaloo), McKenna Harris (SUNO), Lelia Henderson (Stillman), Alyssa Herder (Voorhees), Brittany Howell (Oakwood), Kaylan Jack (SUNO), DeJaria Lewis (Talladega), Cassidy Lowe (Dillard), Jaida Minter (Stillman), Jessica Nerestant (Wiley), Emilee Proctor (Wiley), Imani Rothschild (Dillard), Jakhiya Smith (SUNO), Maia Turner (Tougaloo), Monica Williams (Wilberforce), Teniya Williams (Fisk)

2024-25 Women's Basketball Players of the Week

Date	Offensive	Defensive	Freshman	Newcomer
Oct. 21-27	Dasia Turner, Philander Smith	Elizabeth Camacho, Wiley	Jakhiya Smith, SUNO	Samya Johnson, Philander Smith
Oct. 28-Nov. 3	Saniya Keys, Oakwood	Saniya Keys, Oakwood	Saniya Keys, Oakwood	Jaida Minter, Stillman
Nov. 4-10	Dasia Turner, Philander Smith	Jayla Bibbs, Fisk	Kyren Wilson, SUNO	Michaela Payton, Rust
Nov. 11-17	Ty'Shemia Bunkley, Voorhees	Nedisha Ford, Voorhees	Saniya Keys, Oakwood	D'Mya Ferguson, Dillard
Nov. 18-24	Saniya Keys, Oakwood	A'Niya Young, Fisk	Saniya Keys, Oakwood	Makaila Brown, Tougaloo
Nov. 25-Dec. 1	Ari Winston, Philander Smith	Jessica Nerestant, Wiley	Ashlyn Kimble, Philander Smith	Mary Leday, Wiley
Dec. 2-8	Saniya Keys Oakwood	Jayla Bibbs, Fisk	Saniya Keys, Oakwood	Makaila Brown, Tougaloo

-HBCUAC-

About HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Oakwood University (AL), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.